Friday, August 2, 2013

Blonde on Blonde

Today seems like a great day for a baseball game, so instead of an avalanche of words you get the quick and dirty. Well, not too dirty. This is a family friendly beer blog, after all.

Today's beer is a bottle of Vedett, a blonde ale from Brouwerij Duvel Moortgatthat I had with dinner after the first day's ride (admittedly, a short 8 mile journey). It pours a clear, bright shade of gold, with a huge foam head - although that can probably be attributed to the stupid manner in which I poured the beer. When you take a sip, you get a refreshing, easy drinking lighter beer, with tons of grain noticeable, and just a touch of hops flavor. This beer was first brewed in 1945, and it checks in with an easy 5% ABV. I freely admit no one is flying to Belgium just to drink this beer, but I did enjoy drinking a local favorite.

Highlight of this beer might be the fact that if you send in a photo of yourself, they just might put you on the label! I got a bottle with a guy sitting on the hood of an antique car. Others had different labels, but all with home photos. Cool concept!

Vedett Blond. Check it.

If you find yourself in Kortrijk, Belgium (and who knows, you just might) you need to make sure to stop at Gainsbar. After the dinner on the town square where I had this Vedett, the Beercycling group wandered to this bar, which was advertised as the best beer bar in town. We walked to the front door as the owner was cleaning off tables outside, and found that they were closing for the night. A tiny bit of sweet talking later and a small bit of "but we came all the way from America to drink here :)" and Eliza let us in for one round. And then another, because she forgot to mention a sour beer that was on draft. And then a thrash metal cover of Luka came on (the place definitely had a punk rock vibe) the stereo. And then another round. And then I got the sense Belgium was a fun place to be.

Thing to Think About Today:
Could I find the heavy metal cover of Luka? No, dammit. So instead you get something youtube described as the punk version of Luka, which doesn't seem really all that punk. Anyway, it's Friday, so celebrate! And if anyone finds the thrash metal version that Eliza had on the stereo at Gainsbar... email me.